i can easily see where one would pick this as a #1...it does have just about everything one could want...except, maybe, the excess and abandon i so dearly love on TWA...

Sgt P, for me, is a wee bit tame by the standards of these two: for me, it is the toe being dipped in the water...whereas TWA is the uninhibited frolick..and AR is the last, furtive dive before the folks drag you in for the night !

Nice review, Mr. H.Regarding your question about whether or not John was trying to out-metal Paul's" Helter Skelter" on his track "I Want You (She's So Heavy)"...I prefer to think that "I Want You" rather out-Doors the Doors.

The Beatles' last-recorded album was a triumph. Coming after the difficult Let It Be sessions, the group pulled together for a final collection of songs that rank among their best.

It is commonly thought that The Beatles knew that Abbey Road would be their final album, and wanted to present a fitting farewell to the world. However, the group members denied that they intended to split after its completion, despite a realization that their time together was drawing to a close.

Abbey Road was completed on 25 August 1969, almost a month before John Lennon told the other Beatles that he wished to leave the group. His decision was made on 12 September, just before the Plastic Ono Band performed at the Toronto Rock and Roll Revival festival, and he told the rest of the group at a meeting a week later.

The album was recorded at a time when The Beatles' Apple empire was fast unraveling, with vast quantities of money being hemorrhaged by bad business decisions and a lack of direction. The controversial business manager Allen Klein was moving in to gain control of The Beatles' affairs, despite Paul McCartney's best efforts of resistance.

The problems of Apple found their way into three songs in particular: You Never Give Me Your Money, Here Comes The Sun and Carry That Weight.

Although it was later interpreted as a self-referential comment on The Beatles' legacy, Paul McCartney wrote Carry That Weight about the soured atmosphere at Apple after Allen Klein's arrival.

Read more about the Beatles here at Beatles Fans Unite. Join for free and vote for your favorite Beatles.